The Colors of Submission
by Solar-Priestess
Summary: Blue/Red OriginalShipping. Falling in love with your best friend can be complicated, falling in love with your rival could be a death wish. Blue introduces a new life to Red.
1. Unconditional

It was quiet in Kanto today. The new spring buds popped open from their trees and greeted the sunshine with a curious intensity. New children play in Pallet Town, a boy and his cubone spend the whole day digging in their yard, digging to Sinnoh they say. Shovel placed eagerly in hand, the boy is not a day over 5 years old and is filled to the brim with energy; he pours life from his minty green eyes.

A familiar face sits on the rooftop of a house nearby, looking down at the youngster. He smiles at the little boy's ambition, seeing a bit of himself in the child. Then carefully, quietly, he gets up. Careful not slip on an old panel, he slips back into the window he came out of.

"Chu?" A good friend of Red's sat up in his bed, ears perked in curiosity.

'I'm heading out for a bit, okay, Pikachu? I won't be long, I just need to clear my head.' He signed at his pal.

Pikachu didn't seem satisfied with this. He hopped off the bed in a swift movement and stood by his master's side.

"Pika pikachu!"

Red then proceeded to grin at his lifelong buddy and patted on his tuft of yellow fur, a somewhat reassuring gesture; at least that's what he intended.

'Honestly, I'll be back before dinner. I swear, poke-scouts honor.'

There was a pause, and then a defeated Pikachu retreated back to the bed. If Red so willed to go out alone, what more could be done?

'Thank you for understanding, Pikachu. You always do.'

Those were the words Red signed at his mouse pokemon. Those were the words he would speak, if he could speak, but as everyone knew by now, Red was born a mute. It was a weakness he had overcome. No longer an insecurity of his, he found that what he lacked in communicating with other people, he made up for in communicating with his pokemon. It was almost telepathic, the way he and his pokemon understood one another, signing was almost unnecessary, more of a habit than a requirement.

Red flew out the door and sprinted down the path to Route 1, his mind was cluttered with thoughts, both obtrusive and cleansing. He thought about the time he got his first gym badge, and the time he met Pikachu. He remembered the days he spend lost in Mt. Moon and wondered if anyone else ever got lost in there. He wondered about the reproduction rate of zubats, and the mystery of a slowbro's tail. Then suddenly a root caught his foot, and all too quickly his face met the earth. A trickle of tepid blood sped down from his nose.

He laid there for a moment, remembering a time when his best friend pushed him into the dirt. His nose bled then like it did now. He remembered trying to call for help, even though his voice would never be heard. Mostly, he remembered asking why.

Finally sitting up, Red tilted his head back and waited for the flow to stop. Propping himself up against a tree, he sighed. It was time to embrace the memory that was really bothering him:

A few days prior, just shy of a week, Red received a visit atop Mt. Silver. A challenger had come to claim the prize of defeating the greatest trainer who ever was. His hair was auburn and windswept, it lashed around in the whipping winds in front of his eyes.

"Red!" the challenger's voice was booming with an emotion Red could not place. It was heated but almost poignant at the same time. Eagerly, Red turned to face him. His bleach white teeth glimmered in the sun with a grin that stretched ear to ear.

'Blue!'

"Damn it, Red! Battle me! We end this right now!" Blue's voice shook in pitch, and he stood there breathing heavily, fists clenched, his eyes shooting bullets of intensity right into Red's spirit.

It became evident that something about Blue was ailing. Red returned Pikachu to his pokeball without forewarning.

The signer moved his hands slowly, delicately, as if to say "watch me closely". Blue learned sign language as a child so communication with Red was possible. It was not in vain, as they spent countless hours playing and getting into trouble together.

'Blue you look...unwell. What's happened?'

"Battle me! I won't wait any longer!" his voice has rose to a screech and he stomped up to Red, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him around violently.

"Don't you hear me? I said battle me!" Blue's eyes began to shine with tears.

'Please! Calm down, Blue! We can work this out.' Red still signed at him with precision, despite being gyrated back and forth in the hands of his challenger.

"Why won't you battle me, damn it? Why?" he threw the mute to the ground.

'Blue…'

"Send out your pokemon!" the viridian city gym leader reached down to grab a pokeball from Reds belt. In caution for the well-being of his own pokemon, Red had no choice but to push his competitor away.

Blue was unprepared for this and, in a daze, fell backwards over a large stone. A myriad of stars and colors rushed into his vision from hitting his head upon the cold mountain floor. It didn't take long before he was out cold and most likely concussed.

The poke-master rose and approached Blue cautiously. When he realized that Blue was no longer a manic threat, he called out his Charizard.

'Let's take him home.'

The fiery dragon blew smoke from his nostrils and picked up the unconscious gym leader.

'Thank you, Charizard. You're always good to me.'

And so they flew him back to his gym in Viridian, the entire time Red wondered about the complexities of human emotion. How someone, who sleeps so peacefully now, could be so livid just moments ago. He held the unconscious Blue's hand the entire flight home.

But now, days later, no contact had been made between the two rivals. Words were left unsaid and bitter feelings consumed them.

Red looked up, he didn't realize how far he had been trotting while he was overcome with last week's event. He had almost cleared Route 1, but he wasn't ready to turn back yet.

He was bothered and sore about what had happened, not just what happened on the mountain but with their relationship generally. They had once been inseparable; they made plans for the future together and wanted to take those first brave steps into the world of pokemon arm in arm. Red would confide in Blue and Blue would offer Red protection from the older kids that didn't understand his situation. It was an admirable life.

However, just like the weather, Blue changed. It was sudden and caught Red off guard. He began to act bitterly towards the mute, becoming verbally abusive, then physically violent. Not a day passed where Blue didn't grind down on Red's heart. But, like a growlith, Red's love was unconditional, and he kept coming back. Blue was all he had, and if taking abuse was obligatory in this friendship, then he would certainly oblige.

Eventually they went their separate ways, they did not, as they planned, enter the world of pokemon together. However, it seemed that where Red once found himself always returning to Blue, it was now Blue's turn to always find a way back to Red. Always one step ahead, Blue would go out of his way to find his counterpart and demean him, he had made it a personal promise to best his new rival.

But like a growlith, Red's love will always be unconditional.

The poke-master stopped when he realized his subconscious lead him to where he truly wanted to be. He inhaled deeply as he embraced the image of the Viridan City Gym in front of him. He stepped up to the door. Winds of change washed over him, giving him a new confidence he knew he would need.

It was a quiet day in Kanto.


	2. Into the Fray

Red rubbed his hands together; his palms were sweaty and cold and he bit the inside of his lip until it bled slightly. He was never good at talking to people, he didn't understand idioms and hyperboles, and the concept of sarcasm was a lesson he was just starting to comprehend. It wasn't his strong suit. Never the less, Red was a bold and brave soul, and so he entered the gym.

Within seconds, a dozen eyes cast down upon the raven haired boy. Trainers of all varieties eagerly awaited fresh meat to pick off from seeing the gym leader, however excited faces suddenly turned impassive as they saw the face of the visitor. The hype was lost, so training resumed, leaving a clear walking path for Red.

The gym was large and maintained a comfortable sixty-eight degrees, and at its zenith Blue kneeled upon his pedestal, rubbing what seemed like soot out of his arcanine's fur. Their eyes did not meet, but sparks flew within the air, making the fine hair on the back of Red's neck stand on end. Standing several feet from each other, it was impossible for Red to feel their body heat collide, but for a moment he swore the gym was ablaze.

Moments felt like decades as Blue shook out the odds and ends from his pokemon's fine mane, but he couldn't avoid the smaller boy's gaze for very long. Finally he turned to face his visitor, hands in pockets.

"Alright Red… you've got me at a disadvantage. I get it, I get it, you want an apology, right? Well, here it is. I'm sorry I lunged at you like that, I'm sorry I acted the way I did."

Blue's words were genuine but he kept almost a cold distance from Red, as if he were infected. Red wasn't sure how to respond, he hadn't come for an apology, he hadn't been expecting one, either. This thumbs twitched in the wake of Blue's words.

"Really, Red. I'm sorry." The poke-master could count the many years it had been since he heard Blue's voice sound so serene.

'I…didn't come for that. I just wanted to see how you were, Blue.' his fingers flew.

Something about that didn't settle well with Blue, his eyebrow furrowed and his shoulders tensed under the weight of Red's intentions.

"Why? Why do you give a damn all of a sudden? I find you and shout some obscenities and you push me over a rock, so now you care."

'It isn't like that! Honest!'

"Then what is it, because that's damn well what it looks like."

Red swallowed the lump in this throat and slumped his shoulders to the side. It took him a moment to gather his words properly, but he took his time, because Blue would have to wait, he wanted to be delicate about the topic at hand, he didn't want to make Blue feel like he was being cornered.

'I want you to talk to me… I want to know why you don't like me anymore. I want to know what's the matter. Why you're so upset all the time. I want to know if I did something wrong, Blue." Red's hands lingered on his name, as if he were spelling "Blue" in the sky.

Then something changed in the gym leader, his outlook, his tone, it turned softer. His body relaxed and he ran his hands through his hair almost compulsively. Slowly, his eyes closed and he sat on the steps that lead to the battle-area.

"No you didn't do anything wrong, Red…you never did anything wrong. Don't ever think that."

The shorter boy took a seat near his other, resting his hands across his lap.

'Then why did things change…?'

Blue looked up at Red then, making sure their eyes met, making sure they were communication was perfect.

"Because I became bitter and resentful….I guess I sort of owe this to you, don't I? I never thought about the way my actions would affect you, Red. I was selfish, I always have been. I still am."

'Don't say that!'

"No, it has to be said. You were always special, you had a gift and everyone knew it, everyone but little you. The way pokemon were drawn to you like magic…and you didn't even have to try. It made you happy, to play near the tall grass and throw poffins into the ocean, I should've been happy, for you, I see that now, but it just made me feel…like I had been cheated. I felt like I was playing second fiddle to your attention and I was lurking in the shadow of the blessing you had, like I hadn't been given a chance to show my own talents. I pushed you away because I wanted attention, even if it was negative I wanted to be noticed, and you just kept coming back. Why did you keep coming back?"

'Because…I care." These feelings had never occurred to Red, it was never a thought that perhaps instead of Red having done wrong, Blue was having his own inner turmoil's. It was a hard concept to process, and Red wasn't good for saying very much.

"That's where we're different, Red…you understa-"

The hands of the raven-haired boy jerked and twitched in the air in almost riveting ways. 'You don't care about me?'

Blue's eyes widened and watered, he shook his head and white knuckled the ends of the stairs with an iron grip unmatched for miles.

"Oh God Red…you just don't understand. It isn't like that. It isn't….like that." Blue looked up at the windowed ceiling of the gym , clouds passing by at a slow-poke's pace, and it was only when Red looked over did he realize that little streams shot down Blue's face, his tears caught the sun and shone like liquid silver.

"I watched you for years because I couldn't stop caring. Every match aired on T.V and every article in the paper. I was so damn proud of you, Red… and every so often I had to go see you. I had to find you and remember what it was like to be by your side. I had to hold back every little ounce of happiness because I didn't want to go back to playing your second fiddle. The thought of having to fight for your attention all the time…it kept me at a safe distance for a while. At least when my visits were scarce I knew I'd have your eyes on me whenever I reared my ugly head. I played you for a fool and for that I'm so sorry… I wanted to hate you, Red. I really wanted to but I just couldn't. Life would've just been so much easier that way, if I could just hate you for all the obvious reasons. But it's almost like I'm programmed not to. And when I realized….when I realized what it was…I had to see you again. I had to find you on Mt. Silver."

The tallest boy's gaze was so intense on Red it was almost as if it had an emotion all of its own. This information was so insane to Red, it was almost nonsensical. To hear that not only had Blue regretted his actions but has also still cared for Red was astonishing to say the very least. However, something about the feeling Blue gave off made him nervous, he could feel the blood in rush to his cheeks and he signed, slowly, curiously, at Blue.

'When you realized…what it was?'

Blue stood then, looking down at the slightly younger one before him and exhaled slightly.

"I realized that I had fallen somewhat…in love with you, Red."

Red's hands fell silent.

"So now you know my secret. What will you do with me?"


End file.
